Huron, Ohio
Encyclopedia
Huron is a city in Erie County, Ohio
, United States
. The population was 7,958 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
" of the Connecticut Western Reserve
, lands offered to residents of Connecticut who had lost property to British raiders during the American Revolutionary War
. The first settler in the area that became Huron was a Quebec
-born trapper, trader and interpreter named John Baptiste Flemmond, who established a trading post along the east bank of the Huron River
in 1792.
Huron Township
as well as the village of Huron were incorporated in 1809. Port facilities on the west bank of the Huron River were developed in the 1820s and the town became a major ship building center in the 1830s. The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad greatly expanded Huron's port on the east bank of the Huron River beginning in 1880. The first cargo of iron ore at the W&LE docks was received May 21, 1884. The port is still in use today, accepting cargoes of iron ore and limestone
from lake freighter
s. Huron was also the home port of several commercial fishing
fleets before lake pollution decimated the industry on Lake Erie
in the early 1970s.
Commercial and industrial development had historically been centered around the port area. By the early 1960s a busy downtown business district had developed, serving local residents and summer tourists. However, with improvements to U.S. Route 6
and Ohio Route 2
bypassing the downtown area and enabling quicker travel to larger neighboring cities, downtown Huron went into decline. Starting in 1967, the City of Huron embarked on a controversial urban renewal
program with funding from the U.S. federal government. The city purchased, in some cases by eminent domain
, and demolished 38 commercial buildings and private homes. It then built a municipal marina, called the Huron Boat Basin, as the focal point of a new downtown. While the "Boat Basin" has become a popular community park and gathering place, extensive redevelopment of the downtown area did not occur as envisioned. New industry and commercial development has more recently occurred on the southern and western city limits.
BGSU Firelands
, a branch campus of Bowling Green State University
, is located just west of the city limits. A separate college of the Bowling Green State University system, BGSU Firelands has been a regional campus of BGSU since 1968. Over 2,000 students in 2006 were enrolled for a wide array of associate, bachelors and graduate degree programs.
Huron is the home of the Huron Playhouse, a division of the Bowling Green State University Department of Theatre and Film. The Huron Playhouse, which holds plays in the auditorium of McCormick Middle School, is Ohio's oldest continuing summer theatre.
(ODNR) announced the purchase of the ConAgra Foods facility in Huron. Concurrently, ConAgra Foods
announced the closure of the grain elevator
. The 19.8-acre (80,000 m2) parcel, containing Huron's largest building, is a key piece of Huron’s waterfront. ODNR's Division of Watercraft has completed a public boating and fishing access site with launch ramps, docks and parking facilities. The City of Huron has assumed title to the former grain silos and flour mill and has applied for a grant to demolish the building. It envisions a future riverfront development to include restaurants, retail stores, condominiums and greenspace.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 7.7 square miles (19.9 km²), of which 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²) is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) (36.87%) is water.
of 2000, there were 7,958 people, 3,315 households, and 2,260 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,628.6 people per square mile (628.3/km²). There were 3,832 housing units at an average density of 784.2 per square mile (302.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.37% White, 0.70% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.40% from other races
, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.63% of the population.
There were 3,315 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples
living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $52,289, and the median income for a family was $68,625. Males had a median income of $50,105 versus $27,637 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $24,942. About 2.7% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.
(SBC) All Sports Award with conference championships in
The Lady Tigers have recorded success in volleyball under coach Don Wood, with ten consecutive SBC championships, including Division III State titles in 1999, 2002 and 2009 and State runner-up in 2001.
Huron High School has also had success with their school band. .
Erie County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,551 people, 31,727 households, and 21,764 families residing in the county. The population density was 312 people per square mile . There were 35,909 housing units at an average density of 141 per square mile...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 7,958 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History and culture
Huron was at the center of the "FirelandsFirelands
The Firelands or Sufferers' Lands tract was located at the western end of the Connecticut Western Reserve in what is now the U.S. state of Ohio...
" of the Connecticut Western Reserve
Connecticut Western Reserve
The Connecticut Western Reserve was land claimed by Connecticut from 1662 to 1800 in the Northwest Territory in what is now northeastern Ohio.-History:...
, lands offered to residents of Connecticut who had lost property to British raiders during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. The first settler in the area that became Huron was a Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
-born trapper, trader and interpreter named John Baptiste Flemmond, who established a trading post along the east bank of the Huron River
Huron River (Ohio)
The Huron River is a waterway in the north central Ohio in the United States. The watershed drains large portions of Erie County and Huron County, the northeast corners of Seneca County and Crawford County, and northern portions of Richland County....
in 1792.
Huron Township
Huron Township, Erie County, Ohio
Huron Township is one of the nine townships of Erie County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio metropolitan statistical area...
as well as the village of Huron were incorporated in 1809. Port facilities on the west bank of the Huron River were developed in the 1820s and the town became a major ship building center in the 1830s. The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad greatly expanded Huron's port on the east bank of the Huron River beginning in 1880. The first cargo of iron ore at the W&LE docks was received May 21, 1884. The port is still in use today, accepting cargoes of iron ore and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
from lake freighter
Lake freighter
Lake freighters, or Lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that ply the Great Lakes. The best known was the , the most recent and largest major vessel to be wrecked on the Lakes. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the...
s. Huron was also the home port of several commercial fishing
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
fleets before lake pollution decimated the industry on Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
in the early 1970s.
Commercial and industrial development had historically been centered around the port area. By the early 1960s a busy downtown business district had developed, serving local residents and summer tourists. However, with improvements to U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 , also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to...
and Ohio Route 2
Ohio State Highway 2
State Route 2 is an east–west highway crossing most of northern Ohio. Its western terminus is at the Indiana state line near Hicksville where the route becomes Indiana State Road 37 which continues to Fort Wayne, Indiana. The eastern terminus of the route is in Painesville Township at U.S...
bypassing the downtown area and enabling quicker travel to larger neighboring cities, downtown Huron went into decline. Starting in 1967, the City of Huron embarked on a controversial urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
program with funding from the U.S. federal government. The city purchased, in some cases by eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
, and demolished 38 commercial buildings and private homes. It then built a municipal marina, called the Huron Boat Basin, as the focal point of a new downtown. While the "Boat Basin" has become a popular community park and gathering place, extensive redevelopment of the downtown area did not occur as envisioned. New industry and commercial development has more recently occurred on the southern and western city limits.
BGSU Firelands
BGSU Firelands
BGSU Firelands is a satellite college that is connected to Bowling Green State University. BGSU Firelands is located near the shores of Lake Erie in Huron, Ohio, about east of Bowling Green, Ohio. It is a separate college of the Bowling Green State University system...
, a branch campus of Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
, is located just west of the city limits. A separate college of the Bowling Green State University system, BGSU Firelands has been a regional campus of BGSU since 1968. Over 2,000 students in 2006 were enrolled for a wide array of associate, bachelors and graduate degree programs.
Huron is the home of the Huron Playhouse, a division of the Bowling Green State University Department of Theatre and Film. The Huron Playhouse, which holds plays in the auditorium of McCormick Middle School, is Ohio's oldest continuing summer theatre.
The ConAgra Project
On July 18, 2006, the Ohio Department of Natural ResourcesOhio Department of Natural Resources
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources was created in 1949 by the Ohio Legislature. It is a government agency in the U.S. state of Ohio charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, and recreation areas.Divisions of ODNR...
(ODNR) announced the purchase of the ConAgra Foods facility in Huron. Concurrently, ConAgra Foods
ConAgra Foods
ConAgra Foods, Inc. is an American packaged foods company. ConAgra's products are available in supermarkets, as well as restaurants and food service establishments. Its headquarters are located in Omaha, Nebraska...
announced the closure of the grain elevator
Grain elevator
A grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator, which scoops up, elevates, and then uses gravity to deposit grain in a silo or other storage facility...
. The 19.8-acre (80,000 m2) parcel, containing Huron's largest building, is a key piece of Huron’s waterfront. ODNR's Division of Watercraft has completed a public boating and fishing access site with launch ramps, docks and parking facilities. The City of Huron has assumed title to the former grain silos and flour mill and has applied for a grant to demolish the building. It envisions a future riverfront development to include restaurants, retail stores, condominiums and greenspace.
Geography
Huron is located at 41°23′59"N 82°33′54"W (41.399669, -82.564974).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 7.7 square miles (19.9 km²), of which 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²) is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) (36.87%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 7,958 people, 3,315 households, and 2,260 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,628.6 people per square mile (628.3/km²). There were 3,832 housing units at an average density of 784.2 per square mile (302.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.37% White, 0.70% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.40% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.63% of the population.
There were 3,315 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $52,289, and the median income for a family was $68,625. Males had a median income of $50,105 versus $27,637 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $24,942. About 2.7% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.
Sports
Huron City Schools sports teams are known as the Tigers. The Tigers have recorded numerous athletic successes for both boys and girls. The Tigers won the 2004-2005 Boys Sandusky Bay ConferenceSandusky Bay Conference
The Sandusky Bay Conference is a high school athletic conference with eight members from the Sandusky Bay area of north central Ohio. It is affiliated with the Ohio High School Athletic Association.-Members:-Athletic competition:...
(SBC) All Sports Award with conference championships in
- Basketball
- Track and Field
- Soccer
- Football
- Tennis
The Lady Tigers have recorded success in volleyball under coach Don Wood, with ten consecutive SBC championships, including Division III State titles in 1999, 2002 and 2009 and State runner-up in 2001.
Huron High School has also had success with their school band. .